Negociate Credit Solutions - Author Lauren Heekes
Dream of the day that there will be enough money left in your bank account after your salary is deposited and expenses deducted. At the point where you are ready to make more money, but inevitably you get to the end of the month with no reserves.
More money won't necessarily solve all your problems. In reality more money can make your situation worse, because with more money comes more problems.
The true solution to making more money is better Money Management.
If you are really truthful with yourself, you know that you are only applying 10% of the ideas and goals below. Challenge yourself this year to apply at least 50% of these goals. You will be glad you did.
The Money Challenge for 2020
Your First Steps
1. Don't let your income stop you. An average person with average income can outstrip a high income earner, if that person has clear, focused money goals.
2. Decide what your Money Goals will be. This is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.
3. Create a Money Plan for achieving your goals. Having a money goal with no plan of action is like wanting to travel to a new destination without having a map.
4. Set realistic goals and stick to them. Setting unrealistic goals is a sure way to fail. You will only be failing yourself.
5. Create a timeline that includes a deadline. It works when your boss tells you have until Friday to finish a task. Why not become the boss of your own goals. Set a timeline and try your best to stick to it.
Your Next Steps
1. Willpower is not enough. It can take just one bad day and your budget is out the window. Instead think about the consequences of spending frivolously. More importantly write down what spending this money will do to the goal you have set for yourself and how much longer it will take to achieve it.
2. Become disciplined. True discipline means sacrificing something now to achieve a bigger reward later. Think carefully about things you are wasting money on, from clothing to pet toys. There will always be something.
3. Acknowledge your triggers. If you know that browsing online leads to shopping online, try to avoid that. Instead why not browse for ways to improve money management and listen to motivational podcasts on how to achieve your money goals.
4. Get focused. Focus on your goals several times a month with words, pictures and emotions as if you have already achieved them. Speak your goals into reality.
Spending Habits
1. Track your expenses daily. You may spend more today, but how can you cut tomorrow. By tracking daily you are constantly monitoring your money which leads to better choices.
2. Take a day. Make a deal with yourself to sleep on it before you buy something. Spend the time considering the pros and cons of the purchase.
3. Live with Less. We all like instant gratification, but if you want to reach your financial goals this may not be possible. Instant gratification is not going to pay you an income when you retire.
4. Pay off your debt. Debt incurs a huge amount of interest. Try to get rid of this first and as quickly as possible. Once done use the combined installment you paid each month to debt and put it into your money goals. Make it work for you.
5. Build in predictability. Putting money into high risk investments for bigger returns might not always work in your favour. Invest some of your money in a stable long term fund that shows slow but steady growth.
What else?
1. Don't listen to negative people. "What's the point, the economy is in the toilet." If you track share prices over a long period of time there will always be lows and highs. Their average return is what you should focus on.
2. Manage your home properly. If you bought your home, record all the maintenance, renovations and document all expenses. Create a photo library that coincides with these expenses. When it comes time to selling the home, this will make a huge visual impact for a potential buyer and you could sell your home for much more.
3. Be generous and donate. Using 100% of your available income for savings is obviously better than 90%, but human beings are driven by emotion. Nothing makes you feel better than giving to a worthy cause.
Keep Going
Achieved your goal? Create a new one. As you reach the money goals you set, create new ones. That is how you grow and become a financially free person. Money goals are the road map to the life you want. They help you accomplish things you once thought were impossible.
#yourmoneybetterterms #moneychallenge
About Our Author - Lauren Heekes
Lauren is currently a registered member of the National Credit Regulator. Prior to that, she worked as a Financial and Technical consultant for McGregor-BFA (Now INET-BFA). McGregor-BFA provided Financial Advice, Trading and Market related data as well as Investment management software to various Asset Managers, University Business Schools and Investment entities. Thereafter experience was advanced to the Property Market working as a Project Manager for Propertyi. But it was actually her career at the IEB in Adult Education that inspired a passion of hers to educate consumers about responsible ways of managing their financial lives and the long term advantages of doing so. It is her belief that financial education should be taught from an early age. By doing so we can create a country that is truly economically stable with consumers that are driven not only by work ethics, but by becoming Financially Independent.
Negociate Credit Solutions - Your Money Better Terms
www.negociate.co.za / Contact: +27 (861) 555 554
